It is known in the art to dispense drugs at a healthcare location or other care facility through an automated dispensing machine using pockets (or “receptacles”) within drawers for later removal and administration by doctors and nursing staff. Specific uses for modular receptacles, having a bottom and a plurality of sides and an attached top that may be actuated to open to expose the contents of the receptacle, have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,116,461 and 6,338,007, for example. The receptacle may include an information storage device, such as a memory chip, for storing information regarding the contents of the receptacle. The systems described by these patents utilize modular receptacles that are presented for removal by “popping” the receptacles up from the system drawer. The mechanism used for popping is relatively complicated, with significant tolerance stack-up issues, leading to the receptacles sometimes not popping when they should, or popping at undesired times.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,011,999 discloses a system of drawers holding receptacles, each with electronic locks provided to secure respective lids of the receptacles. A processor communicates with the locks to actuate the lids, which are spring biased, such that the lids pop open when directed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,653, for example, discusses the use of visual indicators providing a cue to a user as to which lid on a receptacle to open or which medication to remove for distribution to patients. The system described in this patent uses immovable bins that are not transportable or easily reconfigurable. Thus, the visual indicator does not tell the user which receptacle to remove or reconfigure.